Joint for flexible spouting



Oct. 22. 1940. A. w. GERBER JOINT FOR FLEXIBLE SPOUTING Original Filed June 12, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig.2

Ismaentor r a L G w n h 5 MW (Ittorneg oct. 22, 1940- A. w. GERBER JDINT FUR FLEXIBLE SPOUTING Original Filed June 12, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IIIIIIIIIIIIIIII 111/! l'snventor Aidinsl'on W. Gerber W 61 57 (Ittorneg Ill Patented Get. 22, 1940 UNITED STATES PA TEN'T OFFlCEQ 1 Claim. (c1. sass-+21 2) My invention relates to grainhandling equipment: and deals particularly with improvements flexible spouting and extensible joints forming part .of such equipment. 1

This applioationis a division of the co-pendin application Ser. No. 278,605 filed June 12, 1939.

In grain elevators it is customary to deliver grain from an elevated hopper or the like down to any one of a plurality of bins 'or other receptacles at a lower point. This necessitates usually the use of extensible spouting having flexible joints 'to permit of adjustability of the lower end of the downspout, that is, the point of delivery of grain.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide improvements inthe flexible joints in grain spouts as above described with the end in mind of' rendering the spouts as dust tight as possible. Dust escaping from grain equipment presents an additional fire hazard, is detrimental to health, and contributes tothe deterioration of equipment and so its abatement is of considerable importance. Flexible joints for use in metal downspouts have heretofore been proposed'but such known constructions have been deficient in not being fully dust tight in all of their adjusted positions. My invention comprehends a flexible joint having a considerable range of adjustment butwherein 'the'joint is substantially dust tight throughout its entire range of adjustment.

Another object of my invention is to provide-a.

flexible joint inmetal spouting which employs a number of parts and offers the maxi-' mum'in ease and facility of manufacture without detracting from the dust tightness and wearing Figure 1 is an assembly of a pair of elevator legs, a hopper, and a flexible downspout delivering grain to a plurality of bin inlets.

Figure2 is another view of the upper part of Figure l;

Figure 3 is a detailed cross sectional side view of the truck on which the lower end of the downspout is carried.

Figure 4 is a view takenalong theline 44 of Figure 5is a detailed view of the upper flexible joint of the downspout.

Referring to Figure l of the drawings, numerals l 0 and I I indicate elevator legs of a type com! monly employed in elevators wherein grain is elevated to a high point in the elevator. The legs Hi and H serve as housings foran endless conveyor-belt l2 :having uniformly spaced grain buckets l3 attached thereto, the conveyor belt passing over a suitable pulley or'the like 14. The Y conveyor belt is drivenby any suitablewmeans such asanelectric'motor I5 and delivers the, elevated grain-into a hopper designated at Hi. In equipment of this type it is customaryto have a pair of hoppers of similar construction located adjacent each other as shown in Figure 2, there being'separate conveying apparatus for each of the hoppers; I

The. lower; portion of the hopperl6-is tapered and connects to a vertical spout or conduit section ll into whichrthe grain isfed from the hop;- per. Numeral l8 designates generally a downspout .forconveying grain from the hopper to any one of a plurality of bin inlets arranged in ahorizontal planeas designated at IS. The upper end of the downspout I8 is pivotally connected to the spout section I! to permit relative movement of ithe downspout with respect to. the section l1. It'i'sto be understood of course that the lower endof the downspoutisadjustable to the right' and left; being carried on a truck 20 so that the lower end of the downspout maybe brought into registry-With any one of the bin inlets l9. To provide-for movement of the lower end of the downspout'with'respect" to the bin inlets an exhaustible j0int or'coupli-ng'2l is provided in'the downspout: The details of the extensible coupling 2| form no part ofmy invention and reference may-:be had to the patent of F. W. Cooley No. 1,395,947 for a more detailed showing of the extensible-coupling: As disclosed, the coupling comprises a bracKet member-ZZ fastened to the lower section of the downspout and having an arm 23 carrying a roller 24 with respect to which the upper section of the downspout is adaptedto movearelatively The. lower section of thedownspout also carries a roller 25, part of which extends -through an opening in the lower spout section and with which the upper spout section is adapted to move in contact.

For thedetails of the flexible joint in the upper end of the downspout and the truck assembly reference may be had to Figures 3, 4 and 5 of thedrawings. Figures 3 and 5 show the upper and lower-ends of the downspout without show-- ing the intermediate section having the extensible coupling 2|. In Figure it will be seen that the spout section I1 is generally circular and has a flange I8 attachable to the lower end of the hopper. The lower part of the section IT has surface portions 28 and 29 of curved configuration, the center of curvature being at the pivot point 30. The curved portion 2 8 is of slightly greater extent than the curved portion 29. The sides of the section I! in which the ends of the pivot 30 are joumalled are flat. The upper end of the downspout I8 is tapered as shown at 3|, the upper end of the downspout also having flat sides similarly to the section I! in which the ends of the pivot 30 are journalled. It will be seen that the upper end of the downspout I8 has an edge portion which is closely juxtaposed to the surface portion 28 of the curved configuration and remains closely juxtaposed thereto when the downspout I8 is rotated relatively to the section I3 about the pivot 30. The tapered portion 3| of the downspout I8 is spaced somewhat from the portion 29 of curved configuration and interposed therebetween is a curved surface portion 32 forming part of an element or member 33 having flat side portions in the shape of sectors which are also carried on the pivot 30. The curved surface portion 32 is contiguous to the surface portion 29 and as seen on Figure 5 is closely juxtaposed thereto. The tapered portion 3| of the downspout I8 has an' inturned flange or ear 36 adapted to engage corresponding ears 34 and 35 on element 33. It will be seen, therefore, that when the downspout I8 is rotated in a clockwise direction sufficiently so "that there would otherwise be an open gap between the upper edge of the portion 3| andthe lower edge of the curved portion 28, the ear 36 'will have engaged the ear 34 of the member 33 and moved said member in a clockwise direction about its pivot so that the curved surface portion 32 spans the gap between the upper edge of-portion 3| and the lower edge of portion 29. It is to be seen, therefore, that by reason of the structure just described, the downspout I8 may be rotated a substantial amount to the right with-the parts of the flexible joint remaining substantially dust tight and that the downspout I8 may be adjusted a substantial amount to the left with the parts of the flexible joint still maintaining the joint as a whole substantially dust tight. It is pointed out that the curved portion 29 is not of the same extent as the curved portion 28 to avoid placing an undue amount of obstruction to the flow of grain from the section I1 into the downspout I8 which it would otherwise do. With the construction shown, the downspout is adjustable a considerable amount to the left of a vertical line through the pivot 30 without the elements of the flexible joint presenting an undue amount of obstruction to the flow of grain from the section I! into the downspout. By avoiding having portions of the flexible joint extend unduly into the path of flowing grain, the wearing qualities of the joint and the conveying means as a whole are considerably improved.

As stated above, Figure 3 of the drawings shows the details of the lower end of the downspout and the truck which supports it and by which it is adjustable. The truck 20 comprises a chassis composed of a frame having sides 31 and 38 (see Figure 4). The front of the frame is formed of two superimposed sheets of metal 33 and 40 of slightly less vertical extent than the side walls 31 and 38, the sheet 33 having an inturned ear 4|. The truck frame has a rear wall or side portion comprised of two superimposed sheets of metal 42 and 43 lying in a plane perpendicular to the plane of the side walls 31 and 38 but disposed at an angle to the plane of the front wall as shown. The chamis or frame of the truck may preferably be of welded construction or any other suitable method of fabrication may be utilized. Journalled in the side walls 31 and 38 are the ends of an axle 45 on the ends of which are carried caster wheels 46 and 41 adapted to run upon tracks 48 and 49 (see Figures 1 and 4). The axle 45 passes through the ends of a U-shaped bail 58, the sides of the bail being disposed on opposite sides of the truck frame. Numeral 5| designated a similar bail, the legs of which are attached to the side walls 31 and 38 at their upper rear portions by welding or the like. The bails 50 and 5| may be also seen on Figure 1.

Formed at the lower part of the left side of the end of the downspout I8 is a bracket 53 formed so as to journal therein a shaft 54, the ends of which are also' journalled in the side walls 31 and 38 of the truck frame. by reason of the structure just described the downspout I8 is pivotally connected to the truck 20. The end of the downspout I8 fits fairly snugly between the side walls 31 and 38 of the truck frame, but the front edge of the downspout I8 is spaced slightly from the front wall of the truck as shown. Numeral 55 designates a member pivoted on the shaft 54 and corre-.

sponding very much in structure to the member 33 of Figure 5, the member 55 having a curved surface portion 56, the center of curvature being at the shaft 54. The surface portion 56, as shown, is interposed between the leading edge of the lower end of the downspout I8 and the front wall of the truck 20. The member 55 has an ear 51 at the lower edge of the curved sur-- face portion 56 and an ear 58 at the upper edge of the curved surface portion 56. Thus simila'rly to the action of the flexible joint of Figure 5, when the truck 20 is moved forward so that the downspout rotates in a counter-clockwise direction with respect to shaft 54, the ear 4| may engage the ear 51 so as to move the member 55' about shaft 54 in a direction to cause the curved surface portion 56 to bridge or span the gap between the upper edge of the front wall of the truck and the leading edge of the lower end of the downspout I8.

downspout and the truck substantially dust tight without unduly interposing obstructions in the path of flow of the grain from the downspoutinto the truck.

Normally the front wall of the truck 20 abutsof practicing it, and discloses it in sufficient 'de-= tail so that those skilled in the art will be enabled to make, use and compound the same. It is to be understood that there are various departures from the structure as shown which may be made by those skilled in the art but which clearlyfalli Obviously.

This construction, as de-- scribed more in detail with respect to Figure 5,- maintains the flexible connection between the within the realm of my invention. It is to be understood, therefore, that I am to be limited only by the scope of the appended claim rather than by my disclosure.

I claim as my invention:

In apparatus of the character described, in combination, a conduit section, another conduit section associated with said first conduit section in continuous conduit forming relation, pivot means connecting said conduit sections permitting relative movement of said sections, one of said sections having curved surface portions, the axis of curvature passing through said pivot means, said other conduit section having an edge portion arranged in juxtaposition to one of said curved surface portions, said edge remaining closely adjacent said curved surface portion during a substantial amount of relative rotation of said sections, an intermediate member carried by said pivot means and having a curved surface portion concentric with said first named curved surface portion throughout its area and interposed between said first curved surface portion and said edge, and inter-engaging means between said second conduit section and said intermediate member whereby said member is moved to span the gap between said one curved portion and said edge when said sections are moved relatively beyond a predetermined limit, and whereby said member moves away from a position obstructing flow through said conduit sections when the sections are moved relatively in a direction to bring their axes into alignment.

ADDINGTON W. GERBER. 

